A detailed report out from Fortune and Kaiser Health Network details a decade worth of failures and false starts in the growing and lucrative area of electronic medical records. The end result is that patients remain at risk of harm while their data sits on the sidelines and while special interes...
Breast augmentation is the most popular form of plastic surgery in the country. Recently, however, the Food and Drug Administration has decided to issue a boxed warning and is considering requiring a decision checklist--a list doctors must go over with their patients--due to increased findings of...
Shepherd v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 1 CA-CV 18-0072 (App. Div. I, April 30,2019) (J. Perkins) https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/0/OpinionFiles/Div1/2019/CV%2018-0072.pdf PHARMACY MAY BE LIABLE FOR NEGLIGENT FILLING OF PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS TWICE CANCELLED WHERE THE FILLING RESULTS IN EMBARRAS...
Redlin v United States, No. 17-16963 (9th Cir. April 23, 201`9 (J. Ikuta) (Appeal from Arizona District Court) http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2019/04/23/17-16963.pdf SECOND NOTICE OF CLAIM UNDER FEDERAL TORTS CLAIM ACT FILED AFTER FIRST CLAIM DENIED IS NOT AN AMENDMENT OF FIRST C...
Super Lawyers released their annual list of top attorneys for 2019. Ted Schmidt and Peter Akmajian were named in the top 50 lawyers in the state of Arizona. Dev Sethi was also chosen as a Super Lawyer in General Personal Injury. Additionally, Ted Schmidt was listed as a Super Lawyer in Product Li...
"Dr. Death," one of the most popular podcasts in 2018, tells the story of a grossly incompetent neurosurgeon who practiced medicine and performed surgeries far longer than the healthcare industry should have allowed. Without spoiling too much, part of the reason this went on for too long was due ...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently released their nationwide hospital scores. Most Tucson area hospitals scored only 2 out of 5 stars. The area's highest rated facility was Oro Valley Hospital, which received 4 stars. Ted Schmidt was interviewed to discuss his concerns with ...
Brittner v Lanzilotta, __Ariz. Adv. Rep. __ No. 1 CA-CV 18-0088 (App. Div. I, March 12, 2019) (J. Campbell) COURT APPOINTED INTERVENTIONIST THERAPIST IN FAMILY COURT MATTER HAS JUDICIAL IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL CLAIMS The defendant was a court appointed therapeutic interventionist who was directed b...
Our January 2019 Newsletter has been released! We cover the following topics: 'Schmidt, Sethi & Akmajian Help Ring in the New Year.' 'Tips for Adding a New Driver to Your Auto Insurance' by Dev Sethi 'Has your Doctor Lost Their License in another State?' by Peter Akmajian 'When Does a Bar ...
Torts: Federal Implied Preemption of Failure to Warn Claim Involving Medical Device Conklin v. Medtronics, Inc., __ Ariz. Adv. __No. CV-17-0322-PR (December 18, 2018) (J. Pelander) FAILURE TO REPORT ADVERSE RESULTS TO FDA REGARDING MEDICAL DEVICE IS IMPLIEDLY PREEMPTED BY FEDERAL LAW ...
A giant color glossy flier arrived in my mail advertising stem cell therapy seminars taking place all over Southern Arizona. According to this advertisement, stem cell therapy will cure just about anything—knee pain, back pain, neuropathy, COPD and osteoarthritis. The brochure screamed out “Dis...
Our September 2018 Newsletter has been released! Take a look at the following topics 'Is Your Doctor Qualified?' by Peter Akmaijan 'Supreme Court Clarifies Workers Compensation Rules' by Ted Schmidt 'Pima County Increasing Access to Jury Trials' by Matt Schmidt 'Why You Should Vote Yes on...
Koepff v. Physician Group of Arizona, Inc., __Ariz. Adv. Rep. __, No. CV-17-0222-PR (July 9, 2018) (J. Bales) DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE OF AGENT-SURGEON DOES NOT PRECLUDE CLAIM AGAINST SURGEON'S PRINCIPAL FOR ITS INDEPENDENT NEGLIGENCE Plaintiffs sued their surgeon alleging negligence ari...
Kopacz v. Banner Health, __Ariz. Adv. Rep. __, 1 CA-CV 17-0493 (App. Div. I, July 5, 2018) (J. Johnsen) MEDICAL MALPRACTICE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS NOT TOLLED BY PHYSICAL INFIRMITY/MUST SHOW ABSENCE OF SOUND MIND Plaintiff suffered many complications following a catherization procedure an...
Evidence—Necessary Qualifications of Causation Expert in Medical Malpractice Cases Rasor v. Northwest Hospital LLC, 789 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 4 (App. Div. II, April 24, 2018) (J. Espinosa) QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED OF CAUSATION EXPERT IN MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE CASE ARE LESS THAN REQUIRED OF STANDARD OF CAR...
Liens: Validity of Hospital Lien for Balance Billing on AHCCCS Payments Against Tort Recovery Ansley v. Banner Health Network, __ Ariz. Adv. Rep. __ (App. Div. I, April 3, 2018) (J. Johnsen) HOSPITAL DOES NOT HAVE A LIEN AGAINST TORT RECOVERY FOR FULL VALUE OF SERVICES RENDERED WHERE IT AGREED ...
State v. Zeitner, 782 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 4 (App. Div. I, January 16, 2018) (J. Johnsen) Defendant was convicted of defrauding the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) by lying to a physician to obtain coverage for an abortion. She objected attempted to assert the physician patient...
Though the evaluation of every case is unique, three primary elements come into play in almost every single one. In Part I of this series, I discussed the first element: liability. To have a case, the wrongdoers actions have to be considered unreasonable and unacceptable by society and law. If l...
Our firm has been ranked in two top tier categories by Best Lawyers! They ranked Schmidt, Sethi amp; Akmajian as Tucson Metropolitan Tier 1 for personal injury litigation and medical malpractice law. You can read their official press release about all of the rankings here.
Razor v. Northwest Hospital, LLC, ___Az Adv. Rep. ___ No. CV-16-0134-PR (October 18, 2017) (J. Bollick) DEFENDANT IN MED MAL CASE MAY MOVE FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT BASED UPON DEFICIENCIES IN PLAINTIFFS EXPERT QUALIFICATIONS UNDER ARS 12-2603 WITHOUT FIRST CHALLENGING THE EXPERTS AFFIDAVIT UNDER AR...
Spring v. Bradford, __Ariz. Adv. Rep. __, No. CV-17-0068-PR (October 23, 2017) (J. Pelander) WHERE PARTY VIOLATES COURT ORDER EXCLUDING WITNESSES FROM HEARING OTHER WITNESS COURT TESTIMONY, THERE IS NO PRESUMPTION OF PREJUDICE TO THE OPPOSING PARTY/ABSENT A SHOWING OF ACTUAL PREJUDICE, SUCH AS ...
Often family members feel helpless when they watch their loved one in a nursing home get worse, because they are not getting the care they need. Anyone, at anytime, can call 911 to have their family member transported to a hospital to get the care they need.
D.L. v. Vassiliev, __F3d__, No. 15-15542 (June 5, 2017) (J. Lasnik) FAILURE TO SERVE NOTICE OF CLAIM CURED WHERE FIRST ACTION VOLUNTARILY DISMISSED AGAINST DEFENDANT DOCTOR FOLLOWED BY PROPER NOTICE OF CLAIM AND SECOND FILING Plaintiff sued the defendant doctor in state court unaware he was a...
Sanders v. Alger, 766 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 22 (June 1, 2017) (J. Bales) PATIENT HAS DUTY TO EXERCISE REASONABLE CARE INTERACTING WITH CAREGIVER BASED UPON CAREGIVER/PATIENT RELATIONSHIP & RESCUE RULE/CAREGIVER NOT A PROFESSIONAL RESCUER ACTING IN RESPONSE TO AN EMERGENCY HENCE FIREMEN'S RULE NOT...
We have just released our latest newsletter! We cover a wide variety of topics: Ted Schmidt wrote about protecting your own family and the duty to report sexual predators Dev Sethi discussed recent changes to Rule 28 and Rule 30 Jim Campbell explains the myth of the medical malpractice crisi...
